Kvyat three points away from F1 race ban

Take a look at all of the best social posts surrounding the drama of the British Grand Prix. (1:51)

10:12 AM ET

Lewis Larkam

Daniil Kvyat is now just three points away from a race ban after being judged the guilty party in a first-lap collision with Toro Rosso teammate Carlos Sainz at the British Grand Prix.

The Russian received a drive-through penalty and two penalty points on his superlicence for causing the collision as the pair headed through the high-speed Maggotts/Becketts complex on the opening lap of Sunday’s race.

His penalty came just a week after causing a first corner crash at the Austrian Grand Prix, as he slammed into McLaren’s Fernando Alonso, who in turn took out Max Verstappen’s Red Bull. Kvyat has now accumulated a total of nine penalty points in the last 12 months, meaning he is just three away from triggering a one-race suspension.

Peter Fox/Getty Images

Kvyat’s tally of penalty points — the most of the entire field — will remain with him until the day after the United States Grand Prix on October 23 when two of his points are due to expire. Following the incident, Kvyat felt the penalty had been too harsh and was adamant Sainz had been as much at fault for the clash, which ended the Spaniard’s race and left Kvyat with damage to his STR12.

Kvyat has been under pressure ever since he was dropped by Red Bull after coming together with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel on two separate occasions in the opening four races of the 2016 season, leading the German to nickname the Toro Rosso driver “torpedo”. In 2017, Kvyat has scored just four points compared to teammate Sainz, who has taken 29.